2014 MLB Compilation Board #4 (and Final)

by: Ben Embry

Well, just one more day until the 2014 MLB Draft.  For New York, the first night will be pretty quiet.  They have just one selection to make on Thursday and it won't be until the 55th pick.  I think there's 5 minutes in between picks in the first round, so that'll take a 2 - 2.5 hours right there.  Yankee fans feel free to wait until hour three or four unless you just love the draft as a whole like I do.

This compilaton board is something I like to do to stay up on who the big names are in the draft pool. What I do is take rankings from 6 different sources that I trust the most on the subject of draft prospects and I compile them into one board. And honestly, it is very difficult to find a lot of information on the MLB Draft on the internet, at least compared to the more popular NFL and NBA Drafts. The MLB Draft is more niche-y, so if anything I'd like to consider what I do a service to those other MLB draftniks out there who are looking for some good information.

My previous board can be found here. Here's the fourth board for the 2014 draft:

Rnk	Name	Pos	School
1	Brady Aiken	SP	H.S.
2	Carlos Rodon	SP	NC State
3	Tyler Kolek	SP	H.S.
4	Alex Jackson	C	H.S.
5	Nick Gordon	SS	H.S.
6	Aaron Nola	SP	LSU
7	Grant Holmes	SP	H.S.
8	Bradley Zimmer	OF	San Fran
9	Kyle Freeland	SP	Evansville
10	Sean Newcomb	SP	Hartford
11	Michael Conforto	OF	Oregon St
12	Jeff Hoffman	SP	E Carolina
13	Touki Toussaint	SP	H.S.
14	Trea Turner	SS	NC State
15	Max Pentecost	C	Kensaw St
16	Tyler Beede	SP	Vandy
17	Brandon Finnegan	SP	TCU
18	Derek Hill	OF	H.S.
19	Kyle Schwarber	C/1B	Indiana
20	Michael Chavis	3B	H.S.
21	Luis Ortiz	SP	H.S.
22	Sean Reid-Foley	SP	H.S.
23	Erick Fedde	SP	UNLV
24	Derek Fisher	OF	Virginia
25	Monte Harrison	OF	H.S.
26	Jacob Gatewood	SS	H.S.
27	Braxton Davidson	1B	H.S.
28	Spencer Adams	SP	H.S.
29	Foster Griffin	SP	H.S.
30	Jacob Bukauskas	SP	H.S.
31	Casey Gillaspie	1B	Wichita St
32	Marcus Wilson	OF	H.S.
33	Kodi Medeiros	SP	H.S.
34	A.J. Reed	1B/SP	Kentucky
35	Michael Kopech	SP	H.S.
36	Michael Gettys	OF/SP	H.S.
37	Forrest Wall	2B	H.S.
38	Ti'quan Forbes	SS	H.S.
39	Mike Papi	OF/1B	Virginia
40	Chase Vallot	C	H.S.
41	Justus Sheffield	SP	H.S.
42	Nick Howard	SP	Virginia
43	Scott Blewett	SP	H.S.
44	Nick Burdi	RP	Louisville
45	Alex Blandino	3B	Stanford
46	Luke Weaver	SP	Florida St
47	Matt Imhof	SP	Cal Poly
48	Jack Flaherty	SP/SS	H.S.
49	Mac Marshall	SP	H.S.
50	Cameron Varga	SP	H.S.
51	Alex Verdugo	SP/OF	H.S.
52	Milton Ramos	SS	H.S.
53	Matt Chapman	3B	CS Fuller.
54	Jackson Reetz	C	H.S.
55	Zech Lemond	SP	Rice
56	Carson Sands	SP	H.S.
57	Matt Railey	OF	H.S.
58	Bryce Montes de Oca	SP	H.S.
59	Joey Gatto	SP	H.S.
60	Jacob Lindgren	SP	Miss. St.
61	Gareth Morgan	OF	H.S.
62	Dylan Cease	SP	H.S.
63	J.J. Schwarz	C	H.S.
64	Keaton McKinney	SP	H.S.
65	Cody Reed	SP	H.S.
66	Spencer Turnbull	SP	Alabama
67	Sam Travis	1B	Indiana
68	Trey Supak	SP	H.S.
69	Taylor Sparks	3B	UC Irvine
70	Garrett Fulencheck	SP	H.S.
71	Michael Cederoth	RP	SD State
72	Aramis Garcia	C	Fla Int'l
73	Daniel Gossett	P	Clemson
74	Cole Tucker	SS	H.S.
75	Josh Morgan	3B	H.S.
76	Jake Stinnett	SP	Maryland
77	Mitch Keller	SP	H.S.
78	Grayson Greiner	C	South Car
79	Brett Graves	SP	Mizzou
80	Jeren Kendall	OF	H.S.
81	Keith Weisenberg	SP	H.S.
82	Chris Oliver	SP	Arkansas
83	Chris Ellis	SP	Ole Miss
84	Bobby Bradley	1B	H.S.
85	Dylan Davis	SP/OF	Oregon St
86	Grant Hockin	SP	H.S.
87	Brian Anderson	2B/OF	Arkansas
88	Trace Loehr	SS	H.S.
89	Austin Gomber	P	Fla. Atl.
90	James Norwood	P	St. Louis
91	Jordan Luplow	OF	Fresno St
92	Evan Skoug	C	H.S.
93	Austin DeCarr	SP	H.S.
94	David Peterson	SP	H.S.
95	Andrew Suarez	SP	Miami (FL)
96	Cobi Johnson	SP	H.S.
97	Eric Skoglund	P	Central Fla
98	J.D. Davis	SP/1B	CS Fuller.
99	Tate Blackman	2B	H.S.
100	Chad Sobotka	SP	SC Upstate
101	Jace Fry	SP	Oregon St
102	Wyatt Strahan	P	USC
103	Jake Godfrey	SP	H.S.
104	Aaron Brown	OF/P	Pepperdine
105	Austin Byler	3B	Nevada
106	Connor Joe	C/1B	San Diego
107	Ryan Castellani	SP	H.S.
108	Jake Cosart	SP	JUCO
109	Greg Allen	OF	SD State
110	Sam Coonrod	SP	So Illinois
111	Taylor Gushue	C	Florida
112	Pat Connaughton	P	Notre Dame
113	Jacob Nix	SP	H.S.
114	Mark Zagunis	C	Va Tech
115	Daniel Mengden	P	Texas A&M
116	Sean Bouchard	3B	H.S.
117	Jordan Brink	SP	Fresno St
118	Dillon Peters	SP	Texas
119	Justin Steele	SP	H.S.
120	Austin Slater	OF	Stanford
121	Jordan Foley	P	Cent Mich
122	Isan Diaz	SS/2B	H.S.
123	Adam Ravenelle	P	Vandy
124	Turner Larkins	SP	H.S.
125	Blake Bivens	SP	H.S.
126	Heath Fillmyer	P	JUCO
127	A.J. Vanegas	RP	Stanford
128	K.J. Harrison	C	H.S.
129	Casey Soltis	OF	H.S.
130	Luke Dykstra	SS/3B	H.S.
131	Nick Wells	SP	H.S.
132	Matt Morgan	C	H.S.
133	Nicholas Torres	OF	Cal Poly
134	Ronnie Williams	OF	H.S.
135	Rhys Hoskins	OF	Sac. State
136	Michael Cantu	C/1B	H.S.
137	Isiah Gilliam	1B	H.S.
138	Mitch Hart	SP	H.S.
139	Brandon Downes	OF	Virginia
140	Cameron Bishop	SP/OF	H.S.
141	John Curtiss	P	H.S.
142	Pavin Smith	OF/1B	H.S.
143	Jordan Montgomery	P	S Carolina
144	Jeremy Rhoades	P	Ill. State
145	Justin Twine	SS/OF	H.S.
146	Trenton Kemp	OF	H.S.
147	Lane Thomas	OF	H.S.
148	Adam Haseley	SP/OF	H.S.
149	Chris Diaz	P	Miami (FL)
150	Ryder Ryan	3B	H.S.
151	Garrett Cave	SP	H.S.
152	Derick Velazquez	P	Fresno St
153	Sam Howard	P	Ga South.
154	Shane Mardirosian	2B	H.S.
155	Austin Davis	SP	CS Baker.
156	Brent Jones	P	Cornell
157	Jake Reed	P	Oregon
158	Kevin Padlo	3B	H.S.
159	Ryan Butler	P	Charlotte
160	Raphael Ramirez	OF	H.S.
161	Stone Garrett	OF	H.S.
162	Carl Chester	OF	H.S.
163	Jalen Beeks	SP	Arkansas
164	Patrick Weigel	P	JUCO
165	Ben Wetzler	SP	Oregon St
166	Keaton Steele	P	Mizzou
167	Andrew Karp	SP	H.S.
168	Joey Pankake	3B	S Carolina
169	Brett Austin	C	NC State
170	Cy Sneed	P	Dallas Bap.
171	Alexis Pantojas	SS	H.S.
172	Connor Wong	SS	H.S.
173	Colin Welmon	P	Loyola M.
174	Richard Prigatano	OF	LB State
175	Jordan Holloway	SP	H.S.
176	Roy Morales	C	H.S.
177	Greg Deichmann	3B	H.S.
178	Luke Bonfield	SP/OF	H.S.
179	Shane Benes	SS/3B	H.S.
180	Gavin LaValley	1B	H.S.
181	Andrew Summerville	SP	H.S.
182	Kel Johnson	OF	H.S.
183	Bryan Dobzanski	SP	H.S.
184	Derek Casey	SP	H.S.
185	Josh Trevino	C	Oral Rob.
186	Zach Shannon	SP/OF	H.S.
187	Michael Russell	SS/3B	UNC
188	Zach Fish	OF	Ok. State
189	Elliott Cary	OF	H.S.
190	Devon Fisher	C	H.S.
191	Reed Reilly	P	Cal Poly
192	Mason McCullough	SP	H.S.
193	Brandon Bonilla	P	JUCO
194	Michael Mader	P	JUCO
195	Robbie Dickey	P	JUCO
196	Tanner Houck	SP	H.S.
197	Cason Sherrod	SP	H.S.
198	Griffin Canning	SP	H.S.
199	Cre Finfrock	SP	H.S.
200	Josh Prevost	P	Seton Hall
201	Max Povse	P	UNC Green.
202	Shane Zeile	C	UCLA
203	Dean Deetz	SP	JUCO
204	Jake Jewell	SP	JUCO
205	Tim Susnara	C	H.S.
206	Sam Clay	P	Ga. Tech
207	Jared Ruxer	P	Louisville
208	Hunter Cole	OF	Georgia
209	Brad Roney	P	So. Miss.
210	Montrell Marshall	SS	H.S.
211	Drew Lugbauer	C	H.S.
212	Mitch Gunsolus	3B	Gonzaga
213	Spencer Moran	SP	H.S.
214	Riley Adams	C	H.S.
215	Austino Cousino	OF	Kentucky
216	Alex Faedo	SP	H.S.
217	Tyler Willman	P	West. Ill.
218	Braden Webb	SP	H.S.
219	Brendan McKay	SP	H.S.
220	Eudor Garcia	3B	JUCO
221	Nick White	SP	H.S.
222	Jeff Brigham	P	Washington
223	Alex Lange	SP	H.S.
224	Ryan Lillard	SS	H.S.
225	Tylor Megill	SP	H.S.
226	Alex Destino	OF	H.S.
227	Clay Casey	OF	H.S.
228	Brad Bass	SP	H.S.
229	Mitch Watrous	P	Utah
230	Zach Thompson	P	UT Arlington
231	Sam Hilliard	SP	JUCO
232	Skyler Ewing	C/1B	Rice
233	Tommy Doyle	SP	H.S.
234	Emmanuel Marrero	SS	Ariz St.
235	Nigel Nootbaar	P	USC
236	Adam Choplick	P	Oklahoma
237	Nathan Rodriguez	C	H.S.
238	Brandon Woodruff	P	Miss. St.
239	Chris McGrath	SP	H.S.
240	D.J. Peters	OF	H.S.
241	Ben Smith	P	Coast. Car.
242	Michael Katz	1B	Wil & Mary
243	Bryce Carter	C	H.S.
244	Scott Hurst	OF	H.S.
245	Micah Miniard	SP	H.S.
246	Austin Robichaux	P	La. Lafay.
247	J.J. Matijevic	1B/3B	H.S.
248	Simeon Lucas	C	H.S.
249	Tanner Scott	P	JUCO
250	Justin Smith	OF/3B	H.S.

I highlighted New York's pick numbers in blue: 55, 91, 122, 152, 182, 212, and 242.  This gives me an idea of the kind of talent that will be available at those picks.  I hate to keep harping on it, but it's a shame NY doesn't have a 1st round pick in this draft.  If the Yankees still had the #17 pick, they could walk away with a Brandon Finnegan or Michael Chavis or maybe even Tyler Beede.  This is a loaded class, and the Yankees are short the highest pick they have had in years and two other picks in the comp sandwich round.

They've been tied to five players as far as I've read: HS catchers Chase Vallot, Jackson Reetz, and K.J. Harrison, HS pitcher Justus Sheffield, and Indiana 1B Sam Travis.  Based on the board, any one of those players except Harrison would be fine for the 2nd round, (Vallot or Sheffield would be a steal in my opinion).  Harrison looks like he could be had in the 3rd or 4th rounds.  I don't love the idea of Travis, because we have a glut of 1B-types in the system already: Greg Bird, who already plays 1B, and Peter O'Brien and Eric Jagielo who may have to move there.  Not to mention Dante Bichette, Jr. who is suddenly resurgent.

What I really hope is that someone falls and causes the Yankees to change their plans.  I stated in my last comp mock blog that last year a top-30 talent fell to at least pick 55 and I feel confident it'll happen again this year.  Could it be HS pitchers Spencer Adams, or Foster Griffin, or HS 1B Braxton Davidson?  I would love any of those, in addition to Vallot or Sheffield.  And it looks like my early personal favorite HS pitcher Dylan Cease looks like he should be available though I'm not sure he's taking the $1 million slot value.  Others that I like that fall between our 2nd and 3rd rd picks: HS pitchers Carson Sands, Joey Gatto, Keaton McKinney and Arkansas pitcher Chris Oliver. 

I want to make sure I give credit where credit's due, that being the six writers/publications I use to assemble my board. Some are subscription based, some are free. I encourage everyone to check them all out. They are:

Baseball America (various writers)

ESPN (Keith Law)

MLB.com (Jim Callis, Jon Mayo)

Scouting Baseball (Kiley McDaniel)

MLB Draft Insider (Chris Crawford)

Big League Futures (Kevin Gallo, Matt Grabusky)

This weekend I'll give initial grades for all 30 teams based on how they draft, then after the signing deadline I'll adjust for those who did not sign.  Email me or hit me up on twitter with any questions: info@thebronxempire.com or @thebronxempire. Have a good day!